Microsoft seeks to dodge EU cloud computing probe with changes

President of Microsoft Brad Smith reacts during an interview with Reuters at the Web Summit, Europe's largest technology conference, in Lisbon, Portugal, November 3, 2021. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes/Files

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Microsoft will revise its licensing deals and make it easier for cloud service providers to compete, its president Brad Smith said on Wednesday, as the U.S. software giant sought to dodge a lengthy EU antitrust probe into its cloud computing business.

Microsoft was fined 1.6 billion euros ($1.7 billion) by EU antitrust regulators in the previous decade for various violations.